February 6, 2017

Meet Norman & Heather Jones of The Rhythm Child Network in Westside

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Norman & Heather Jones.

Norman & Heather, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was raised in the suburbs just outside of Cleveland, Ohio by a single mom who was a saint of a woman and taught me all about service & compassion for humanity. My two loves growing up were sports & music. I was really good at sports so I was constantly in an atmosphere that required hard work & discipline, but I didn’t show an immediate talent for music so I spent a lot of time in the basement secretly cultivating my passion to become a performer.

Jumping forward to college, I dropped sports and became somewhat of a central figure in the community because of my role as a radio DJ & singer in a very popular Reggae/Ska band. When I finished school, the band moved out to Southern California where we recorded and toured for almost 10 years. It was during that time that I met Heather and from the first day until now we have been best friends, partners and true examples of the power of love.

Heather is a Malibu girl so we eventually left Santa Barbara, where the band was based and she was going to school and came down to LA to start our life together.

Now here we are, 27 years later, with this company Rhythm Child that has grown from playing gigs at the Main St. Farmers Market in Santa Monica to being featured at The White House. We have had the pleasure to engage so many young children through music and drumming while also connecting with the heart of LA’s early education community.
Our 2 boys, Bailey & Andre, are the inspiration for it all and it has been an amazing experience to watch our business grow and be able to share it with them in so many ways. It all goes back to those early lessons that I learned from my upbringing and the support of my family.

Has it been a smooth road?
Norm:
Running our own business has not been easy and having a business that involves our children has made it even harder. The most difficult part has been juggling the responsibilities of our role as the sole owners of a company while making sure that the health & happiness of our family unit is a priority. Because our office is in our home, the lines are easily blurred when it comes to the daily duties and time commitments.

I’m out on the road a lot each day so there are times when I’m not readily available to my family. Rhythm Child provides a valuable service to so many different communities so my personal time is restricted by the schedule of my work … which is different every day.

When the kids perform with me it’s even harder because then we have to make sure that they are taken care of as well. It’s a bit easier now that they’re older, but still, it is our job as parents to make sure that they are safe and under our guidance.

Heather:
The biggest challenge for me is balance. Because I’m very hands on with my kid’s life along with the business, I sometimes find the juggle of it all overwhelming. However, I can also choose to look at it as an adventure that we are all fortunate to be a part of and that the ability to work from home gives me great flexibility. Every now and again, I imagine leaving an office and not having to think about work related issues until the next day, whereas with our business it seems to never end. Everything blends together which can be both amazing and challenging. Over the years I have worked hard on finding that right balance and being grateful that at the end of the day it’s an inspiring business that we have & we truly are fortunate.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
Norm:
Basically, our business supports the parents, children, and teachers of California through music performances, school presentations, and professional development training. We have grown over the last 13 years from a small local “mommy & me” type program to become one of the most sought after Family Music Artists & Early Education Speakers in the state.

In music, we differentiated ourselves from many other children’s music projects early on by bringing a very real & raw approach to the style of our performances and bringing hundreds of small drums to all of our shows that allowed the audience to play along with the band. This gave the parents an opportunity to groove while the kids while the kids stayed totally engaged with the show.

In education, we provided a new creative outlet for both students & teachers in the classroom to develop group awareness and individual expression. At the time we started there weren’t any programs going into preschools and early education environments that promoted drumming as a way to learn and grow in other areas. Now it’s become a very popular thing.

I am very proud that we pioneered this Rhythm Child movement and have maintained a very high standard of excellence in both our approach with the children and ultimately in our standing within the community.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Norm:
This city has been an amazing launching pad for our business. It has given us access to so many different cultures and has served as an amazing testing ground for our development. We have met so many awesome families and come in contact with some very inspiring schools. I believe that if a business can make it in LA it has a good chance to duplicate that success anywhere. It comes down to understanding what the people want and finding a way to serve their needs.

Heather:
LA has all the opportunities you could want, but it certainly doesn’t mean that you will succeed. The resources are available which is fantastic, and there are other people who have paved the way in both children’s music and education, however, it’s still important to find your own niche….to distinguish yourself from everyone else.

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